Herod Sayle
Herod Sayle is the main antagonist in the Alex Rider novel Stormbreaker and the 2006 film of the same name (in which he is named Darrius Sayle). He is portrayed by Mickey Rourke, who also portrayed Whiplash. Biography History Sayle was born in Lebanon (Egypt in the American publication) as one of thirteen children (nine boys and four girls). His father was a failed hairdresser and his mother took in washing. One day, at the age of seven, he saved two rich American tourists by pushing them off the street out of the way of a grand piano which fell out an upper floor window. Upon learning of his situation, they virtually adopted him and sent him to a private school in England. There, he was frequently bullied by his fellow students for his accent and skin colour, particularly one who would become the UK's future Prime Minister. Over time, he grew up to hate the school children of Britain, as well as the whole country in general. In the film, Sayle's forename is Darrius, his nationality was changed to American, and his parents became rich after winning the California State Lottery, subsequently deciding to get their son away from his dangerous surroundings by sending him to boarding school in Britain. Since his schooling and Cambridge education, he has built a large and successful business empire, becoming a multi-millionaire, in media, computer manufacturing and horse-racing. In the film, he is mentioned to be a multi-billionaire, giving him a similarity to real-life wealthy genius Bill Gates. Criminal life Sayle invented an industrial technique that allowed computer components to be developed in non-sterile environments, slashing the price of production. Using this technique, he developed the Stormbreaker computer and planned to donate one to each school in Britain, publicly declaring his actions as thanks for the country taking him in as a child; in return, he wanted nothing more than official British citizenship. However, MI6 was suspicious of his intentions, sending out agent Ian Rider to investigate. After several weeks, Ian sent out an urgent notice, reporting that the Stormbreakers could not be allowed to leave Sayle's factory. However, before he could report in to explain more, he was killed by Russian assassin Yassen Gregorovich. Ian's death was covered up and reported to have been the result of a car accident. Alan Blunt forcibly recruit's Ian's nephew, Alex Rider, to finish Ian's investigation, threatening to deport his American housekeeper Jack Starbright if he refuses to cooperate. A month before, Sayle held a contest; the winner would get to stay at Sayle's home and test the Stormbreaker before it's official release. MI6 sends Felix Lester (Kevin Blake in the film), the winner of the competition, on holiday in Scotland instead of Cornwall, and sends Alex Rider in under Felix's identity. Alex investigates the plant and its operations and soon discovers what his uncle had found. Sayle has put a genetically modified strain of smallpox into all the Stormbreaker computers (it is later revealed that this virus was supplied to him by the criminal organization SCORPIA in the book Snakehead). The smallpox will be released during the grand opening ceremony, killing all of the United Kingdom's school children. Sayle then leaves his butler, Mr. Grin, to kill Alex and flies to London to attend the ceremony. Nadia Vole traps Alex in a tank with Sayle's pet, a Portuguese Man o' War jellyfish. Alex is left inside the jellyfish tank but he manages to avoid the jellyfish and dives to the bottom of the tank, where he uses a specialized zit cream to melt the supports of the tank causing it to break. Alex escapes while the jellyfish pours out of the tank and lands on Vole, fatally stinging her. Alex escapes and reaches one of Sayle's airplanes. Mr. Grin flies Alex to London to the ceremony location (because Alex has a gun on him). Alex flies in using a parachute and fires blindly, destroying the switch seconds before the Prime Minister is about to flip it. Sayle tries to activate the computer, but is hit by two bullets, one in his left arm and the other in his shoulder; yet he he manages to escape. After Alex has a debriefing with Mrs. Jones and Alan Blunt, Alex takes a cab home, only to discover that the driver is in fact Sayle. He then takes Alex to a tower of his and he shows him a helicopter about to land that will take him into hiding, before gloating that he will try again to destroy Britain, and that Alex will not be around to stop him. Just as Sayle is about to shoot Alex, Yassen Gregorovich climbs out of the helicopter and shoots Sayle twice in the chest, killing him. Yassen claims that Sayle had become an embarrasment to his employers; however, the novel Russian Roulette reveals that Yassen was in fact ordered to kill Alex, not Sayle (though he beleived that the organization he worked for would eventually want the latter killed anyway). Disregarding his objectvies, Yassen instead saved the boy due to he life debt he owed to John Rider, Alex's father. In the film, the climax is different. After Alex prevents the Prime Minister from activating the virus housed in the Stormbreaker computers, an enraged Sayle punches the Prime Minister before fleeing. The authorities fail to catch him but Alex soon discovers that he intends to activate the Stormbreakers himself using a manual override, having seen a model of it down in Cornwall. Alex and his friend Sabina Pleasure (who does not appear in the Stormbreaker novel) pursue Sayle on horseback to avoid the heavy London traffic, eventually reaching Sayle's tower. Alex climbs to the roof and severs the power cable to stop Sayle from completing his plan. Sayle catches up to Alex and knocks both him and Sabina off the roof, though they survive by clinging onto the severed cable, which starts breaking, and are left dangling precariously underneath. Just as Sayle is about to finish them off, Yassen arrives in a helicopter and shoots Sayle twice in the chest, causing him to topple from the edge of the tower to his death. Gallery Darrius Sayle.png|Sayle being interviewed about his Stormbreaker computers on a news report Darrius Sayle 2.png|Sayle meeting Alex Rider, believing him to be the competition winner Kevin Blake Darrius Sayle 3.png|Sayle observing the model of the Stormbreaker computers' backup activator Darrius Sayle 4.png|Sayle having dinner with Alex Darrius Sayle 5.png|Sayle revealing his murderous master plan to a captured Alex Darrius Sayle 6.png|Sayle shaking hands with the prime minister at the Stormbreaker opening ceremony Darrius Sayle 7.png|Sayle giving a speech just before the Prime Minister activates the Stormbreakers Darrius Sayle 8.png|Sayle preparing to shoot Alex on the roof of his tower Sayle's death.png|Sayle is stunned after being shot twice in the chest by his associate, Yassen Gregorovich Sayle's death 2.png|Sayle plummets from the roof of his tower, to his death Trivia *He was named after the Biblical antagonist Herod Antipas because both resolved to commit mass child massacres. *His name is also a reference to the Harrod's chain of shops in England, as revealed by author Anthony Horowitz. 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